Fairy Tales Archetypes Essay

The fairy tales that we have become so familiar with are embedded with love, imagination and enchantment. In truth, these are just common archetypes; originally fairy tales had a much darker backdrop. They were once symbols of sexualisation and brutality as not everything ended happily ever after. Deriving from promiscuous and overlooked on goings from the 19th century (such as molestation), these ideas were later suppressed when they became children’s tales. John Updike described traditional fairy tales as ‘The pornography of their day’, hence they contained elements of wish-fulfilment and gratification such as rape, pleasure and attainment. This is true to a certain extent but they also consisted of violence, mutiny and injustice. An exploration

The book was first published in 1812 hence, these tales were previously transferred orally and among adults through the long nights. It is also possible that fairy tales were used to warn the children of particular ideas such as in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’. The integration of explicit ideas into these tales suggests that their disruptive nature could reflect the reality of the 19th century. In ‘Little Red Cap’ the most evident sexual symbol is the use of the colour red as this is associated with sensuality, love and passion. Through this realisation, the image of the wolf becomes an even darker and dominant figure: ‘Once the wolf had satisfied his desires’ (1812:15). Not only does he commit an act of violence but he also craves the consumption and therefore sexual gratification of an adolescent (Little Red Cap) by challenging her innocence. In ‘Hansel and Gretel’ a similar scenario is presented through the witch’s cannibalistic desire to cook and consume the children. The witch explains: “He’s staying outside in a shed, waiting to be fattened up. When he’s put on enough weight, I’ll eat him”. (1812:189) This clearly shows her intentions and the wish-fulfilment that she would obtain from it. Sexual innuendos in these fairy tales occur regularly and are distinctly visible in ‘Little Red Cap’. The wolf is said to think “That tender young woman will make a dainty

An obvious example of this is the impersonation of the grandmother by the wolf in ‘Little Red Cap’. The wolf is described as having ‘put on her clothes and her nightcap, lay down in her bed, and drew the curtains.’ (1812:15) This simple act of deceit allows the situation to be manipulated, hence the reader has to ask questions. The act of deception is also shown in ‘Hansel and Gretel’ as the witch deceives the children to enter her house by stating that “how in the world did you get here? Come right inside and stay with me. You will not meet any harm here.” (1812:187). Despite the gesture being a negative element in the story, these key moments are necessary when creating a fairy tale in order for a lesson to be learnt. Deception not only constructs a story but it also reflects real life scenarios, hence this shows that fairy tales are not just stories of wish-fulfilment and